Hollywood Afraid of Being Labeled 'Anti-Black' On Syria

Yeah, this is why the larger American public should just ignore Hollywood. With the exception of Ronald Reagan, they seldom produce people whose opinions should be sought after concerning political issues. It's a town criticized for being egregiously superficial, and this aversion by the Hollywood left only verifies that point.

On Sept. 6, Paul Bond of the Hollywood Reporter quoted Ed Asner saying that his fellow comrades are afraid of criticizing the president over this Syria fiasco since they don't want to look "anti-black."

Asner said the lack of an organized effort against war in Syria is a matter of timing. Bush took months to make the case for war in Iraq, giving the anti-war left plenty of time to prepare a response.

"It will be a done deal before Hollywood is mobilized," Asner said. "This country will either bomb the hell out of Syria or not before Hollywood gets off its ass."

Also, said Asner, unsuccessful efforts to prevent war in Iraq led to complacency among left-wing activists.

"We had a million people in the streets, for Christ's sake, protesting Iraq, which was about as illegal as you could find. Did it matter? Is George Bush being tried in the high courts of justice?" asks Asner. "We've been so God-damned stung in this country by false wars, repeatedly, that, how can you believe in any just war with the history we have had?"

Another reason some Hollywood progressives have been reticent to speak out against war in Syria, according to Asner, is fear of being called racist.

"A lot of people don't want to feel anti-black by being opposed to Obama," he said.

“M*A*S*H” star Mike Farrell gave a more pathetic response.

While some conservatives see hypocrisy, Farrell says that an all-out war in Iraq under Bush, a Republican who was very unpopular in Hollywood, was a much bigger deal than potential missile strikes against Syria under the direction of Obama, a Democrat who drew millions for his campaigns from showbiz industry donors.

Asner, 83, and Farrell, 74, both expressed extreme disappointment in Obama for advocating military action.

"What he is talking about in Syria is a potential war crime," Farrell said. "It will be illegal, and if citizens are killed it certainly could be considered a war crime."

In all, the Hollywood reaction is that Obama's black, so we'll just shut our faces right now.